Virago

MacMcMacmac

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Who has/had one? I'd prefer a 1st gen for the more neutral ergos, kind of like an early Special vs later Special.

Ideally, I'd like an early 750 to transplant a later 1100 motor into, but the 1st gens are getting hard to find. I'm holding out for a bit to see what turns up. There have been quite a few interestingly priced 1100s for sale lately. I am wondering if the fact that they have been out of production since 2007 has lead to any problems finding parts. I know it has been a revelation how hard it is to find a decent Bandit 1200 motor, and they were around until 2006. Perhaps a stock 920 to de-uglify would be the best option of all, but again, pretty hard to find one in decent shape, or even not decent shape.

On an unrelated note, an absolutely cherry Maxim 11 has just popped up for sale for $1500, but the parts supply issue keeps me from jumping on it. I also seem to have developed an appreciation for twins in my, ahem, not youth.
 
Bought a 535 for the wife to learn on. That was a great little bike other than the carb set-up. Those were a POS and a PITA at the same time. Supposedly the PO had them rebuilt but whoever did it used a regular phillips to bugger up the screws and the idle would take off at varying unexpected times. she upgraded in a month or so and the next guy got to mess with it. I see plenty of Virago’s on FB and CL. Plenty of Maxims on there too so parts bikes appear to be readily available.
 
First wife had a 535. That one did not seem to have any real problems other than a failed voltage regulator that had me pushing it a few mile to get home once! To be honest that was a bit cramped of me, better suited to someone under five foot six.

Current wife has a Vespa GTV 300 and that is actually not bad. Now if she would just let me ride her Ryker more I would be happy. Nice thing about the Ryker is it has easy no tools needed adjustments for foot pegs or handle bars so in a couple seconds it can be changed to fit different sized people.
 
I figured this forum would be full of Virago guys. I guess I shouldn't be surprised given they already own the best Yammie twin. Just jonesing for a bit more torque and not really that interested in more deep engine mods. Damn hipsters and un-builders have dried up most all the old Virago supply it seems.
 
Had an 1100 (forgot the year, late 90’s) for a while - truck pulled out and I t-boned the front fender. Everyone was ok, bike not so much. I liked the bike, never any issue in the short time I had it. Rear suspension may as well been a hard tail, roughest riding bike I’ve been on.
 
Sakura concept bike from some years ago.... I saved a pic.
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Well, it's no Sakura but what can you expect for $100...

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Everything is there, and if the odometer is correct, less than 15K (~9000miles).

The motor is free and I turned it over by hand via the back wheel in 5th. One blown fork seal, busted front signal, rotted exhaust, seat cover toast...it has everything I look for in a bike. My intention is to get it running without any major mods, then, if I generally like it, obtain a decent 1100 motor and have at 'er. The guy I bought it from even handed me a few parts, a new battery, replacement exhaust, brake caliper and master cylinder rebuild kit, and a bunch of manuals, CD's and ownership papers going back to 1991 from British Columbia. Hopefully there is enough documentation to make registering it in my name no problem. I can't see them getting too hard assed over a 41yr old $100 bike, but who knows. I have a Clubman bar to eliminate the buckhorns.

I figure if Jim is brave enough to take on that RD200, I should be able to sort this one out without too much hassle. Should be a fun project.
 
Down the rabbit hole again. It's in a lot rougher shape than my XS was. Tires aired up though! I managed to get a couple of coughs on ether, but the starter really is as dire as reported. Connections are so corroded the motor wouldn't even turn over with a booster at first.

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I got the carbs out for cleaning since I was sure they would be a horror show....

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Damn, these are pristine inside. Now I wish I had dropped some gas in there! New levers and carb connectors are on their way. This could go quicker than I thought. I really have to pull the side cover off and deal with the starter though.
 
I have the 88 Virago 1000. It cost way more than that 920 but looked worse because it was fire damaged. The higher price was because the motor only had 2064 miles on it. There is a lot of help out there, just takes a lot of searching. Your Virago is good in that there are no missing major parts. In the UK spares are quite easy to get for the 88 onward models. The universal in the shaft is a rear thing, but generally the original should be good only needing a good clean and grease. The carbs are not too bad to take on and off once you have worked out the technigue - search carbs on YouTube. Are the carbs Hitachi or Mikuni? The rebuild kits are available in the US via Ebay.

There is something more difficult than the carbs and that is putting the engine back in and aligning the drive shaft. The best way forward is to remove the rear wheel hub from the shaft housing where it connects using 4 x chromed acorn nuts.
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The actual shaft will come right out and stay connected to the rear hub. Then thread the shaft back on once the engine is back on its mounts: Make sure the universal is correctly aligned when remounting the engine. The engine is very heavy so I made a support frame that bolts to the engine.

If you need any help/suggestions in the future PM me and I'll send photos if I have then.
 
Thanks Paul. The carbs are Hitachi 40mm. I don't know why they get so much hate, they seem to be well designed. There was one choke feed orifice plugged in one bowl. Diaphragms could protect an elephant they are in such good condition. Everything else was super clean. So is the tank on the inside. There is one minor welt on the outside. It's too bad this super wide tunnel makes it so hard to find an alternate tank for these bikes.
 
Some years ago I saw a 920 (iirc) for sale on Craigslist. Advertised as chain driven with the pics to attest to it. I wasn't in the market at the time.
Yep; the XV920R Seca had enclosed chain drive rather than shaft. '81-'82 with later production to Europe (maybe '86).

I've been trying to keep an eye for one. Decent enough for restoration or (if not) a resto-mod cafe style.

Ya'll please give me a shout if you see one!

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The Hitachi 40 kits seem easy enough to get hold of in the US via Ebay, but not so in the UK. The test for the diaphrams seems to be just check for holes unlike the XS650 Mikunis where there is a drop test. My set of Hitachis are running nicely. I never see water in them which must be due to the very long route the air has to flow from the air filter. This probably explains why the insides were so clean when you opened yours up. My old 81 XS650SH always had a few drops in the carbs.
 
Q. what sort of speeds can a XV1100 cruise at ?
I really like the idea of 550cc per pot, but if it can't cruise at 85mph, it's no use on UK motorways.
These bikes seem to lend themselves well.to customising
 
UK maximum motorway cruising speed is 70mph. Not much difference between the XV1000 (981cc) and the XV1100 (1063cc). They cruise nicely at 55 - 70 mph, but I have not gone faster. 60mph is about 3500 rpm and 70mph is about 4000rpm. If you want to cruise at higher speeds then there are better more modern choices: See Ebay - Kawasaki VN1500 in good condition going for £1300.
 
Well, I never cleaned a master cylinder with a vacuum cleaner before. Luckily, I kept my oem 650 unit which is the same except for the plastic reservoir. This one is beyond reasonable repair. The snapped cover screw sealed the deal. I have a rebuild kit for it, included in the $100 purchase price. I put some clubmans on the bike but I dont think they really work. Now for some fork seals.
 

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